Supporting Players
by MaybeWeAre
Summary: Regina has always made it clear that she doesn't need anyone's help, but Emma and Robin have never been good at following rules. When Regina decides to have a baby, they both step in. Completely platonic SQ and OQ.


**Prompt from scifigrrl, the 100th reviewer of Follow If You Lead: somehow Regina gets both Emma and Robin.**

* * *

The trail through the woods ended near the imposing castle playground, and although Emma had been passing it on her morning run for months, it still made her sad. Sad that Henry had outgrown it, sad that Regina's gift to their son was so short-lived. She hoped that at least the other children of Storybrooke were enjoying it, but at this early hour it was almost always deserted.

Today, there only appeared to be one little boy and his mother. But as the woman got up to help the boy onto the monkey bars, Emma realized that it wasn't his mother at all. It was Regina.

She lingered on the path for a second, watching as Regina let go and the boy swung himself from rung to rung at a surprising pace considering his size. He dropped from the bars at the end, completely unafraid. Emma smiled. She liked this kid, fearless and strong despite being so young. He ran back around to Regina and held his arms up. "Again!"

The way he made Regina smile warmed Emma's heart. Emma jogged over towards them, blonde ponytail swinging behind her, as Regina lifted the boy again.

"Who's the munchkin?" she asked, stopping beside Regina as the other woman let go.

"Roland." Regina hardly even gave Emma a glance, too busy proudly watching little Roland as he finished the bars again and raced towards the slide.

"And who'd you steal him from?"

Regina shot Emma a harsh look. "I'm watching him for Robin."

"I don't mean to imply that you steal children," Emma said, well aware of why Regina took such offense to the question. "He's quite a climber."

"He's lived his whole life in the forest," Regina told her. "Lots of practice."

"Well, there's tons of forest around and he's chosen to play on your castle. Looks like it was a good investment after all."

"It's good, knowing that I can make someone happy. That doesn't happen enough." Regina retreated towards a nearby bench, and Emma followed and sat next to her. They didn't speak for a moment, Roland's laughter and birdsong the only sounds, before Regina spoke up again. "I've been thinking about having another."

"Playground?"

"Child." Regina gave a nervous smile. "I always wanted a brother or sister for Henry."

Emma could tell that Regina was waiting for her to say her worst. That Regina should never have been a mother in the first place, that she was dangerous, that it was a terrible idea. "Need me to pop out another one for you?" she joked to lighten the mood.

"Not if the pirate is the only possible candidate for father," Regina shot back. "Any child from the two of you would be frightening."

"First of all, ew," Emma said with a grimace. "And hey, it's not like Henry turned out to be a grifter, so clearly DNA doesn't matter much."

"I've actually been thinking about having the child myself," Regina said softly.

Emma stopped with the jokes, realizing from Regina's expression just how serious she was about this. "What are you thinking you'll do about a sperm donor?" she asked, just as serious. "Unless you can magically make yourself pregnant or something."

Regina took a deep breath and looked towards the path. Emma followed her gaze to see Robin Hood emerging from the forest, and a glance at Regina showed the brunette to be nervous.

"Well, you know he makes cute kids," Emma said. "Have you asked him?"

"I was going to today," Regina explained, smiling slightly as Robin came closer.

"Good luck," Emma said, starting to stand before Regina gripped her arm and tugged her back down.

"Please stay," she said nervously.

It was weird, remembering that she was the closest thing to a friend Regina had, the only person who could offer her support. Well, maybe except for Robin. Emma couldn't seem to figure out what, exactly, had happened between Regina and Robin during the year in the Enchanted Forest, but she'd seen the way Robin stepped up to support her during the fight against Zelena.

Since then, she'd hardly seen the man, and certainly hadn't gotten to know him. She hadn't even known he had a kid. Roland hopped off the bottom of the slide and ran towards Robin with a cry of "Papa!"

"I really don't want to be the awkward third wheel in this conversation," Emma said finally, "but I'll stay close." She touched Regina's shoulder lightly, just a bit of reassurance, before making her way to father and son. She offered Robin an awkward smile before bending down to Roland's level. "Hey, Roland. Can you teach me how you swing on the bars? You're so good at it."

Roland studied her with his big eyes for a moment before nodding. "Okay!" He let go of his father and went running towards the playground.

Emma straightened up, making awkward eye contact with Robin once again before nodding towards Regina. "She wants to talk to you," she said before hurrying after Roland.

* * *

Emma got to know Robin better as the months went by, but she was still surprised when he showed up in the station in the middle of the day. She couldn't think of a single time they'd been alone together, mostly seeing each other in the company of Regina or Emma's parents. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "Regina's gone into labor."

"Thanks for letting me know." Emma turned back to her work, but that nagging feeling in the back of her head, the one that had shown up periodically after Regina had told her and Robin that she didn't need anyone in the hospital with her, flared up. "Just because she doesn't _need_ anyone…" she said with a glance up at Robin. She remembered all too well how it had felt to have a baby in a room full of strangers. And while Regina was stronger than a teenaged Emma and this pregnancy was planned, it still didn't seem right for her to be alone.

"Doesn't mean she doesn't want anyone," Robin finished. "Exactly. I'm sure she doesn't want me in the room with her, but you're a woman at least. You've done this before."

Emma got up and shrugged her jacket on. "If she throws a fireball in my face, it is so your fault."

Regina certainly looked like she wanted to throw a fireball at the next person she saw, and unfortunately that was Emma. But she held back, simply snapping, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Emma stayed a safe distance away, watching as Regina gritted her teeth through a contraction. "When I had Henry, there was no one there to support me. The only other people in the room were doctors and nurses and a prison guard and it really sucked." When the pain passed and Regina relaxed slightly, Emma dared to edge closer and sit in the nearest chair. "You, on the other hand, have a choice, Regina. You can do this on your own, I know you can. But Robin and I are here for you if you don't want to be alone. We both care about you so much."

Regina didn't say yes, but she didn't say no, either, so Emma stayed in the room, and Robin stayed just outside the door. Labor took the better part of the day, and Emma could see a hint of gratitude in Regina when the blonde talked to distract her from the pain or let her squeeze her hand.

* * *

"You didn't tell me you were having twins," Emma said, still stunned by the fact that a nurse had set one of the babies in her arms as if she belonged there. "No wonder you were so huge."

Regina glared at her. "I'd hit you if you weren't holding my daughter." The boy was already resting against Regina's chest, and Emma carefully passed over the girl.

"They're wonderful, Regina," Emma told her, interrupted by Robin tapping on the open door.

"How did it go?" he asked, peering around the doorframe before deciding that it was safe to come in. "Goodness," he added when he saw them, one pink and one blue. "Twins? No wonder you were so…"

Regina shifted her glare from Emma to Robin, and he promptly stopped talking. "You are both absolutely infuriating."

"You love us," Emma said.

"We're here, you know," Robin said. Emma relinquished the seat beside Regina and Robin took it, leaning in to get a better look at the babies. "If you ever need help."

"I know how to take care of a child," Regina huffed. "Certainly better than Emma does."

"Well, if you ever need a babysitter or something," Emma suggested.

"Or if you want an extra set of hands," Robin continued.

Regina looked from one infant to the other, seeming a bit overwhelmed for the first time. "Thank you," she said softly, not looking at either of her friends, but they could see her smiling.


End file.
